Sunday, June 19, 2016

Oyster Fest 2016

Shelling out the good stuff at the 26th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival.

How is everybody feeling today? If you were at the 26th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival yesterday you might be a little wobbly, a little sunburned, a little tired — maybe all of the above. The sun was out and so was Humboldt (along with a hearty crowd of out-of-towners), reveling in the fruit of our bay, the oyster. The taps were flowing, the bands were playing and patrons were lined up at stalls and slurping down oysters as fast as vendors could shuck them. In a history-making trifecta, Sushi Spot swept all culinary competition categories: Best Raw Oyster, Best Cooked Oyster and Best Non-oyster entry. We'll have to wait for next year to see if the restaurant can defend all three titles, and we may need that time to fully recover anyway. Until then, enjoy photographer Mark McKenna's slideshow of the briny bacchanalia.